Falcontext Privacy Policy (also at https://falcontext.com/privacy/)

This Privacy Policy explains what information Falcontext (the browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc and Firefox, the desktop app for Mac and the falcontext.com website) collects, how it's used, and the choices you have. Falcontext is built around a simple principle: your manuscript is yours, and it stays on your device unless you explicitly choose otherwise.

In short

Your writing is never sent anywhere, and no AI is used on your writing in any way.

• Falcontext reads your text in your browser (or on your Mac, in the desktop app) and counts and checks it there. Every check is a rule or a word list; none of it is AI.
• What it saves is numbers – word counts, goals, streaks, history – plus your settings and the names of the documents you track.
• There is no Falcontext server. If you turn on sync, it goes through your own browser's sync (Chrome's or Firefox's) or your own Google Drive.
• Buying Pro goes through Lemon Squeezy, and your license key is checked with them. The details are below.
• Who we are

Falcontext is operated by Falcontext, based in the Netherlands. You can reach us at support@falcontext.com for any privacy questions or requests.

1. What we collect

2.1 Data stored only on your device

The extension stores the following locally in your browser's own storage, and it never leaves your device unless cross-device sync (below) is turned on:

• Writing and editing goals, daily/total word targets
• Word count history (rolling 14-day window), editing history, and writing-activity days
• Streaks and personal records (best day, longest streak)
• Achievement/badge progress
• Chapter and scene markers you create
• App settings (theme, tracking toggles, reminder times, interface preferences)

2.2 Data synced across your devices (optional)

If you enable cross-device sync, a subset of the data above (settings, manuscript list, achievements, and per-document history) is synced using Chrome's own built-in sync infrastructure, tied to your Google account – the same mechanism Chrome uses to sync your bookmarks or passwords. This data passes through Google's sync servers. In Firefox, the browser's own sync is used instead (Firefox Sync, tied to your Mozilla account, if you use it), and the data passes through Mozilla's sync servers; Falcontext does not operate a separate server that stores this data. We never sync: your license key, or the text of your manuscript itself.

2.2a Sync through your Google Drive (optional)

If you turn on sync through Google Drive (in the extension, or in the desktop app, where it's the only way to sync), the same data as in 2.2 is kept in one file in the hidden app-data folder of your own Google Drive. Falcontext asks Google for the drive.appdata permission for this: it lets Falcontext see only its own file in that folder, and nothing else in your Drive. The folder doesn't show in your Drive; you can see how much space it takes, and delete it, under Settings → Manage apps in Google Drive. This is how the desktop app, and browsers other than Chrome, share your progress. The file goes directly between your devices and Google; Falcontext does not operate a server that sees it. As with Chrome sync, your license key and your manuscript's text are never included. Turning Drive sync off in Settings can delete the file.

In the desktop app, signing in to Google happens in your browser, on Google's own page. The app keeps the resulting sign-in token on your Mac, readable only by your user account, to sync without asking again; signing out, or turning Drive sync off, removes it and withdraws it at Google. The app also keeps your Google account's email address, only to show which account is signed in.

2.2b The desktop app

The desktop app tracks the Scrivener projects and Word, Pages and LibreOffice Writer documents you choose. It reads them on your Mac to count words and run the Tools, in the same way the extension reads a web page: the text is processed on your device and never sent anywhere. What it stores (the data listed in 2.1, and the list of documents you track) stays on your Mac, except for what Drive sync (2.2a) shares, if you turn it on. To offer newly created documents for tracking, it asks macOS's Spotlight for the names of recently created Scrivener, Word, Pages and LibreOffice files; those names stay on your Mac. It checks for updates by downloading a small file from GitHub, which sees your IP address as for any download.

2.2c The web app

The web app on falcontext.com/app/ is the same panel as the extension, as a web page for phones and tablets. It counts only the Google Docs you choose in Google’s file picker, reading them with the same drive.file permission as the extension (2.3), in your browser. What it stores (the data listed in 2.1, and the list of documents you chose) is kept in your browser’s own storage for falcontext.com; the Google sign-in token is kept only for the browser tab’s session and lasts about an hour. Signing in turns on sync through your Google Drive (2.2a), which is how the web app shares your progress with the extension; you can turn it off in its Settings. Falcontext’s server only serves the page: nothing you write, count or store reaches it.

2.2d The writing pad

The writing pad in the web app (falcontext.com/app/write/) keeps what you write in your browser’s own storage on your device, with earlier versions and recently deleted manuscripts; Falcontext’s server never receives it. If you choose, each manuscript is also backed up as a Word file to a place in your own account: your Google Drive (a “Falcontext” folder, with the same drive.file permission as 2.3), your Dropbox or your OneDrive (their “Apps/Falcontext” folder: Falcontext can only see that folder), or a folder on your computer. The file goes straight from your browser to that service, under that service’s own privacy policy. To connect Dropbox or OneDrive you sign in on their own page; the resulting sign-in tokens are kept in your browser only, and disconnecting (or clearing your browser’s data) removes them. You can revoke Falcontext’s access at any time in your Dropbox or Microsoft account settings.

2.3 Google Docs access

If you track a document in Google Docs, Falcontext asks for Google's drive.file permission through Google's own sign-in. With it, Falcontext can only open the Google Docs you choose yourself – it cannot see, list, or open any other file in your Google Drive.

The first time you use Falcontext on a document, a small window opens on falcontext.com/allow with Google's file picker, showing just that document (or the documents you track). Falcontext can read a document only after you select it there. You can withdraw this access at any time in your Google Account, under Security → Third-party apps & services.

That page signs you in with Google only to open the picker. Google's sign-in token is kept in the page's memory while it's open; it is not stored, and it is never sent to any Falcontext server. The page itself doesn't read your document.

This access is used solely to count words and to run the Tools described below (such as Prose Analysis and chapter/scene outlines). Document text is processed transiently, in your browser, to compute those results – it is not stored by us beyond the resulting numbers, and it is never transmitted to any Falcontext server.

Falcontext's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Data from Google Docs is never used for advertising, never sold, never used to train AI or machine-learning models, and never read by a person.

2.4 Prose Analysis

The Prose Analysis tool and Bird’s Eye (every check, from adverbs and passive voice to tense slips, pacing and the character tracker) run entirely inside your browser, with rules and word lists: no AI is used. Your text is never sent anywhere for these features, including to us.

2.5 Synonym Checker

From version 4.1.1 the Synonym Checker looks words up in a thesaurus built into Falcontext (made from Princeton University’s WordNet), so nothing is sent anywhere. In earlier versions, the single word you looked up was sent to Datamuse, a third-party API, to retrieve synonyms; no surrounding manuscript text or context was sent.

2.6 Subscription and license status

To verify whether your subscription is active, the extension sends your license key directly to Lemon Squeezy's License API (not through a Falcontext-operated server) each time it needs to check or re-check your status, along with a label identifying this device (e.g. "Mac · a1b2"). Lemon Squeezy's response tells the extension which plan the key unlocks.

Separately, a small record derived from that result – your subscription tier, the device label, and (if applicable) the last 4 characters of the key – may be stored locally and, if sync is enabled, synced across your devices so you can see your plan status on each one. Your full license key and payment details are never included in this record, and are never synced.

2.7 Payment information

Subscriptions are billed through Lemon Squeezy, our payment processor and merchant of record. Lemon Squeezy collects and processes your payment details (card information, billing address, etc.) directly – we never receive, see, or store your card details ourselves. Lemon Squeezy's own privacy policy governs that data.

2.8 Support communications

If you email support@falcontext.com, we receive your email address, any name you provide, and the content of your message. We use this only to respond to your request.

2.9 The falcontext.com website

The marketing website does not use tracking cookies or third-party analytics beyond what's strictly needed to serve the page securely. The Google Docs allow page (falcontext.com/allow) loads Google's sign-in and file picker, as described in 2.3; Google's own privacy policy applies to those.

1. Legal basis for processing (EU/EEA users)

Where the GDPR applies, we process your data on the following bases: performance of a contract (providing the extension and Pro subscription features you've signed up for), your consent (e.g. enabling cross-device sync or Google Docs access), and our legitimate interest in operating and improving Falcontext.

1. How we share data

We do not sell your data. We share data only with the service providers needed to run Falcontext:

• Lemon Squeezy – payment processing and subscription billing (merchant of record), and direct license-key verification from the extension
• Google – Google sign-in, the Google Picker, Google Docs API access (only for documents you select), Chrome Sync, and Google Drive's app-data folder if you turn on Drive sync, governed by Google's own privacy policy
• Mozilla – in Firefox, Firefox Sync if you turn on sync and use it, governed by Mozilla's own privacy policy
• GitHub – hosts the desktop app's downloads and updates
• Dropbox and Microsoft (OneDrive) – only if you choose them as a place for the writing pad’s backups (2.2d); the files go from your browser to your own account
• Datamuse – single-word synonym lookups, in versions before 4.1.1 only
• Data retention

Local history is capped to a rolling window (typically 14 days) by design; personal records, achievements, and settings are kept until you clear them yourself using the extension's built-in export/backup and cleanup tools, or until you uninstall the extension, which removes all locally stored data. Lemon Squeezy retains billing records as required by law.

1. Your rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or export your data, and to object to certain processing. Since most Falcontext data lives on your own device, you can exercise most of these rights directly – through the extension's Settings panel (export, backup, or clean-up tools) or by uninstalling it. For anything else, including subscription/billing data, contact us at support@falcontext.com. EU/EEA users also have the right to lodge a complaint with their local data protection authority.

1. Children's privacy

Falcontext is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 16.

1. Security

We take reasonable measures to protect the data described above, but no method of storage or transmission is completely secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security.

1. International data transfers

Our service providers (Google, Mozilla, Lemon Squeezy, GitHub, and Datamuse for versions before 4.1.1) may process data outside the Netherlands/EEA. Where this happens, we rely on the safeguards those providers make available, such as Standard Contractual Clauses.

1. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.

1. Contact

Questions about this policy or your data? Email support@falcontext.com.